The worst insult a sociopath can deliver

A couple weeks ago I spoke about the worst insult an Aspie could think of (to accuse me of having Asperger's), and before that I had talked about how a gay guy had accused me of being gay.

A few days ago I got a rare comment from a self-admitted sociopath, on the Do sociopaths love their children post:

You call us monsters john but you yourself sound like a narcissistic know it all, why else would you write about sociopaths unless you got a buzz of reading about other peoples sad stories lol? What can I say apart from most of the most us successful people including your own governments are sociopaths. They can cope with making decistions that hurt people were as your little mind would send you into a break down. well said about the kids, I protect mine and provide for them and reward there sucess they are my future blood which reflects on me, one last thing about us.... the stupid ones are easy to spot like the ones in some peoples stories, the smart ones arent and its normally to late if you ever find out because dont forget we will do anything to protect ourselves

This sociopath's comment is revealing on a number of different levels. First, like the Aspie and the gay guy, the first insult he hurled my way was to accuse me of something he is, i.e., a "narcissistic know-it-all." (All sociopaths are by definition narcissists.)

Then he suggests, illogically, that I wouldn't write about sociopaths unless I "got a buzz out of reading about other peoples [sic] sad stories." I'm not sure how getting a buzz out of sad stories would relate to wanting to alert others to sociopathic behavior patterns. In any case, it appears to be another case of projection.

Note the "lol" he puts at the end of his first sentence. I've written in the past about how one of the surest signs of narcissism is to laugh at one's own jokes. Punctuating your sentence with an "lol" is effectively doing the same.

The sociopath then goes on to claim that most successful people are sociopaths, which is ridiculous. Sociopaths are roughly 3% of the population, and far more than 3% of the population is successful. I certainly wouldn't argue that shamelessness and dishonesty and disloyalty and extreme confidence can't be useful attributes when climbing the corporate ladder or campaigning for public office. But not every successful person is a sociopath. And given that a high percentage of successful sociopaths go down in flames, even the sociopaths at the top don't necessarily remain there for long. (And there are plenty of sociopaths for whom success was always elusive: look in any prison.)

The sociopath then actually makes a good point: that sociopaths "can cope with making decisions [sic] that hurt people were as [whereas] your little mind would send you into a break down." It is true that sociopaths have more nerve than the rest of us, especially when it comes to actions that will harm others. (It's a lot easier when you simply don't care about others.) But his use of the phrase "little mind" is telling: it is a claim for nonsociopathic inferiority, and, thus, sociopathic superiority. This is how sociopaths view the world: divided into the strong and the weak, i.e., the guilt-free and those burdened by consciences.

He then agrees with the point of the original post, which is that sociopaths will often take good care of and be loyal to their own children, not because they feel the same kind of love for them that normal people do, but because they are extensions of themselves: "well said about the kids, I protect mine and provide for them and reward there [sic] sucess [sic] they are my future blood which reflects on me."

He then concludes, "one last thing about us.... the stupid ones are easy to spot like the ones in some peoples stories, the smart ones arent and its normally to late if you ever find out because dont forget we will do anything to protect ourselves." This is another perfect example of sociopathic thinking: he obviously categorizes himself as one of the smart ones, and assumes he's got everybody in his world fooled. (Sociopaths are forever assuming they're pulling the wool over people's eyes even when they're not.) My guess is that a lot of people who've dealt with him, even if they are unfamiliar with the concept of sociopathy, recognize him as a nasty, unpleasant character who can't really be trusted. Which is not to say he hasn't successfully hoodwinked many in the past.

Also note the "we will do anything to protect ourselves." Sociopaths see their every action, no matter how aggressive or vile, as defensive. They are never in the wrong: in their minds, they are only doing what they have to.

In any case, the main point of this post is that people's insults usually tell more about them than they do about the people they're insulting. Projection is far more common than most realize.

Although, now that I come to think of it, I do seem to accuse a lot of people of being sociopaths.

Luckily -- or unluckily -- I have neither the charm nor the nerve to be a true sociopath. In fact, I don't even have the confidence level of a garden variety narcissist. I will plead guilty, however, to being a know-it-all on certain subjects. LOL!!